EcoPro BM will set up its first plant in Hungary outside South Korea to produce cathodes for lithium batteries, with an investment of HUF 264 billion creating 631 new jobs in Debrecen, said Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in Seoul on Wednesday (8th December).
According to the press release of the ministry, the head of the ministry reported in his press conference that 108,000 tons of cathodes will be produced in Debrecen every year, which is enough to produce 1.35 million electric car batteries. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2024, the second one a year later.
According to the announcement, EcoPro BM was the first company in the world to produce cathodes with 80 percent nickel content. In addition, Debrecen will be the first such plant in Europe, so Hungary’s role in the continent’s electric car industry may become even more valuable. Péter Szijjártó emphasized that there was a sharp international competition for the investment, for which the government also provides financial support. However, the extent of this will not be made public until after the European Commission has been notified.
He highlighted that the project just announced was the second largest investment this year, and the first place was also from a South Korean company, SK Innovation. In 2021, more than half of all investments in Hungary came from the East Asian country. He underlined that almost all of these are being carried out in the “revolutionary” automotive industry. He also added that such investments are much needed in the industry of the future in order for Hungary to maintain its position as one of the flagships of the European automotive industry.
The Hungarian automotive industry accounts for 30 percent of total manufacturing output, so the sector is dominant for the economy as a whole and for long-term growth.
The minister highlighted that last year was the black year of the world economy due to the coronavirus epidemic, when 114 million jobs were lost globally, investment fell by 42 per cent and world trade fell by more than 5 per cent.
“The Hungarian economy has taken a completely opposite path to these processes, and we have been able to break huge records in terms of key indicators,” he said, pointing out that employment, quarterly economic growth and investment peaked. Péter Szijjártó stated that Hungary has given one of the most successful economic responses to the epidemic in the world by using budgetary resources to support investment instead of financing unemployment. He said this would not have been possible without the strategy of opening up to the East, which “has now clearly become a success story”. He noted that the geographic focus of the world economy has shifted from the West over the past 15 years, with about 70 percent of global investment already funded by Eastern capital last year.
Accordingly, the volume of investments of Eastern companies is growing rapidly in Hungary, where South Korea was the largest investor in 2019, China in 2020, and again this year. According to the statistics of the last three years, the second largest investment in the European Union came to Hungary from South Korea, he underlined. Responding to a question from a journalist, he said that he had also met in Seoul with the leaders of three other companies already present in Hungary, who were on the verge of announcing new investments.
MTI
